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You're OK, but your president...

WASHINGTON — What kind of welcome should George W. Bush expect from the European public as he arrives in Brussels? Probably not great, according to a postelection survey by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The poll asked citizens of the United States, France and Germany their views of political leaders in the other countries, and whether they felt that the other countries "should play a leading role in world affairs."

French and German respondents, not surprisingly, had highly negative feelings toward the U.S. president. Only 4 percent of the French and 3 percent of the German respondents approved "very much" of Bush's policies, while 62 percent of the French and 59 percent of the Germans disapproved "very much."

But given broader concerns about anti-Americanism taking hold in Europe, it is striking that these negative views of Bush did not translate into views about a more general opposition to the United States, even on a geopolitical level: Only 30 percent of respondents in France and 17 percent in Germany believed that it was "very undesirable" that the United States exert leadership in world affairs.

These numbers are surely higher than the United States would like, but they are much less negative than those for Bush himself.

In fact, in all three countries surveyed, negative feelings toward particular leaders failed to translate into negative views on whether their countries should exert leadership abroad. This pattern is even more striking among American respondents who had negative views of President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder but very positive opinions about France and Germany.

Forty percent of Americans disapproved of Chirac's handling of international policies, yet 58 percent of American respondents felt it was either "somewhat" or "very" desirable that France exert strong leadership in world affairs.

Republican attempts in the U.S. presidential campaign to discredit the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, by associating him with all things French did not create negative views toward French leadership in world affairs. But it did create a strong antipathy toward Chirac among Bush voters, 57 percent of whom expressed disapproval of his leadership. American attitudes toward Schröder were even less negative, with only 11 percent disapproving "very much" of his handling of international affairs and 57 percent saying it was desirable that Germany exert strong leadership in world affairs.

This difference was even stronger in Americans' views toward the European Union: 65 percent of Americans said it was desirable that the EU exert strong leadership in world affairs, while only 7 percent saw such leadership as "very undesirable."

These numbers suggest that Bush still has an opportunity to reach out to Europeans, and he is doing the right thing by going first to Brussels, the home of most of the major EU institutions. If the visit and the rhetoric of diplomacy are followed up with substantive efforts at cooperation, there is hope for mending the rift between the United States and Europe.

Despite the rhetoric that makes news, the people on both sides of the Atlantic can tell the difference between leaders and longer histories of friendship.